Primarily a collection of news links about all 10 Horizon League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.

SMU is hardly alone on a list of schools that have had trouble hiring coaches in recent years. Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens both turned down a $2.6 million offer last month to coach Illinois, which eventually hired Ohio's John Groce.

Valparaiso's Bryce Drew spurned an opportunity to coach at Mississippi State, and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall said "no thanks" when Nebraska showed interest....On the flip side, Marshall feels mid-major schools stand just as good a chance of going on a postseason run and reaching the Final Four as does, say, the sixth-place team from a major conference such as the Big 12 or Big Ten.

Butler and VCU are proof.

The Bulldogs reached the NCAA title game in 2010 and '11. And VCU made the Final Four in 2011.Because of that, it's no surprise that VCU's Smart and Butler's Stevens are among the first names that pop up whenever a job becomes available in a top-six conference. Both have been content to stay put....Stevens has faced those same kinds of questions ever since leading Butler to a near-upset of Duke in the 2010 NCAA title game -- and they only intensified one year later, when the Bulldogs reached the championship once again.

"What everyone might consider to be a great job on the outside … it may not be looked at that way among coaches," Stevens said. "To each his own. What's important to one person may not be important to another."

Illinois has hardly been the only suitor for Stevens, who doesn't seem to have intentions of leaving Butler.

At least not in the immediate future.

Stevens, who is married with two young children, said it's difficult to imagine uprooting his wife and two young children and moving to a different city or state. Stevens grew up in Indiana and began his coaching career as an assistant at Butler in 2001.

"The coaching carousel is a lot of fun to talk about and form opinions on and speculate about -- until it hits your family," Stevens said. "Then it's not fun. It's not fun to think about the impact it has on your family. No decision is made, no move is made until you examine the impact it has on your family."

My mom lives here, my dad lives here. I know people all over town. It's a great job. A great life. I don't know if it'd be like that everywhere else. But I know it's like that here.

"Most coaches at non-BCS schools aren't compensated as well as Stevens, Smart and Marshall. But even the chance to earn twice as much money isn't appealing enough for some to leave a successful program to take over one that is in bad shape....Another factor that can make non-BCS coaches think twice before jumping to power conferences is recruiting. Bigger schools often pursue higher-caliber players, which sometimes means dealing with the underbelly of college basketball.

"Recruiting at the high-major level is extremely complicated and, in many cases, corrupt," said one coach from a mid-major school. "If I was to take a high-major job, I could be entering myself in all sorts of scenarios that I can usually avoid where I am now. That's a factor for certain people.

"If you go to that level and you go about it the 'right way,' the deck could be stacked against you."

It's a scenario coaches like Marshall, Smart and Stevens likely won't have to deal with any time soon.If ever."I never even dreamed I'd be the coach at Butler," Stevens said. "I sure as heck never had a goal -- and still don't -- to have a BCS job. I don't have any goals written on a napkin. In a lot of ways, this has already been a fairy tale."

It’s the offseason so clearly it’s time for schools to haphazardly jump around again. And you thought this M5 would only focus on player transfers? A report by the New York Post’s Lenn Robbins on Friday afternoon claimed for the second time in a month that CAA stalwarts George Mason and VCU were preparing to move to the Atlantic 10 as soon as early May, and that Horizon League and national power Butler is also ready to join a new and improved A-10. At this point, all interested parties are publicly denying everything, but if we’ve learned anything in the past two years of conference realignment madness, such denials are virtually meaningless. Assuming that Xavier and St. Louis aren’t headed anywhere, the top of the Atlantic 10 could be poised to become one heck of a basketball league for years to come.

Heading into Tuesday night's action, the Jazz had played Jefferson, Millsap and Favors together for a shade over 97 total minutes on the season — just under 51 minutes with the backcourt of Devin Harris and Gordon Hayward, just under 30 with Hayward and backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley, and less than 10 minutes each in stints with the combinations of Tinsley and rookie Alec Burks, Burks and Harris, Burks and Earl Watson, and Hayward and Watson, according to BasketballValue.com's Jazz lineup numbers. In those 97.27 minutes, lineups featuring the Jefferson/Favors/Millsap troika scored 115.8 points per 100 possessions for the Jazz, while allowing just 84-per-100. A Wednesday morning update following the win over the Suns via Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe shows a dip in the offensive efficiency numbers to 111.9-per-100, but even stronger defensive stats, as Utah's big lineups have now allowed just 82.3-per-100 in 113 total minutes together....Add to that the defensive activity of moving, engaged wings like Hayward, Burks and Harris, and while 84 points per 100 possessions seems like an awful tough number to continually replicate, you definitely have the makings of a defensive lineup that can hold up better than it seems to on paper.

Gordon Hayward, one of seven Jazz players who've never been in the NBA postseason, added 11 points and eight assists....Gordon Hayward, Devin Harris and Favors all played strong in the second quarter, leading the Jazz to a 49-42 halftime lead.

Harris and Hayward sent the Jazz into the locker room with something to cheer about. Harris poked the ball away from Nash and it ended up in Hayward's hands. He flung it downcourt to a sprinting Harris, who finished off the sequence with a layup.

GUARDS: Devin Harris did more than just hold his own against Steve Nash and the rest of the Suns' backcourt. He produced with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. But his biggest play probably came when he drew a charge on Sebastian Telfair with 6:15 remaining as the Jazz led 82-78. Gordon Hayward didn't shoot the ball well but was otherwise outstanding. He played great defense and had two steals to go along with 11 points and eight assists. Steve Nash's stat line was similar to the last time the Suns played in Utah, but he didn't impact the game nearly as much. Shannon Brown had decent stats, but his turnovers and overall sloppy play were a detriment to Phoenix.

Undeniably talented: The much-touted core of Utah’s youngsters were integral in the playoffs-clinching win. In quiet fashion, sophomore guard Gordon Hayward used his exceptional passing skills to help jumpstart a sometimes sputtering offense. He finished with eight assists, as well as 11 points and a pair of steals. He also recorded no turnovers.

After a timeout, Phoenix was going for a final shot, but Devin Harris came up from behind Nash and knocked the ball forward, right to Gordon Hayward, who in turn flung a pass to a streaking Harris for a layup. Instead of possibly leading by three, the Jazz went into halftime with a seven-point advantage.

Kids. They can find the darndest things to enjoy. Enes Kanter looked like it was his birthday. Same with Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Veteran Devin Harris emotionally hugged coach Ty Corbin. Even the "old" guys like 27-year-old Al Jefferson fought back the emotion.

That's understandable. Eight years in the league and Jefferson hasn't paid many visits to Respectville. Just one previous playoff appearance. But after scoring eight straight points to pull the Jazz ahead for good, he's not just Big Al the scorer, he's Big Al the possible postseason leader. It's not just Gordon Hayward, the promising young player, it's Hayward the veteran. As for playoff intensity, now they can all enjoy the feel. Asked whether this team was more excited than those that routinely make the playoffs, Harris said, "I would think so. It's just a young group not expected to do anything."

And with Devin Harris adding 14 points, Gordon Hayward 11 points with eight assists and rookie Alec Burks chipping in eight more key points off the bench, it propelled an over-achieving Jazz ballclub — one which most so-called experts expected very little success from in their preseason predictions — into postseason play as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the Western Conference....For guys like second-year players Favors and Hayward, and the rookie Burks, the wait won't be nearly so long as Jefferson's, but it'll be their first taste of postseason play in their young NBA careers.

Gordon Hayward, one of seven Jazz players who've never been in the NBA postseason, added 11 points and eight assists. Alec Burks added eight points, and the Jazz even had a nice four-point contribution from Josh Howard, back after a month rehab from knee surgery.

After taking the court Tuesday night against Phoenix, rookie Enes Kanter and second-year forward Gordon Hayward have played in all 65 of the Jazz’s games. With Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Devin Harris recording time in at least 62 with one game to go, Utah’s on the verge of having most of its top athletes successfully navigate what’s been an injury-plagued season for many teams.

Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor was smiling. President Randy Rigby was giving fist bumps. Jefferson joked and hollered, while everyone from Gordon Hayward to Harris beamed while discussing their team — one they told anyone who’d listen all season never to count out.

Although Corbin said beating the Blazers remains a priority, the victory over the Suns puts less pressure on the Jazz to do so. As a result, players like Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Gordon Hayward and Devin Harris might get a little more rest than usual....• Hayward played 42 minutes against Phoenix. He has played at least 34 minutes in 15 straight games, going back to March 18.

On draft day this year, Grunfeld used the sixth pick on Jan Vesely, the 18th pick on Singleton and the 34th pick on Shelvin Mack, who have shown during the second half of this season they can be complementary players.

Vesely scored a career-high 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting against the Bobcats, but he and fellow rookies Singleton and Shelvin Mack have had minimal impact in their rookie seasons, despite plenty of opportunity to contribute.

With James getting his hoped-for rest, Wade working his way through a dislocated left index finger and Bosh dealing with a lingering hamstring issue, the Heat left the challenge of the Celtics to the likes of Dexter Pittman, Norris Cole and Juwan Howard.